Photo Credit:  Phil Amato

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you've been working on?

A.  I am pretty much tied up with "Boston Legal," it's definitely a full time job.  There is not much time for anything else, we just had a hiatus which was only a couple of weeks and then we went back to work.  It's been a full year on "Boston Legal."

Q.  What can you tell us is new this season with the show and your character Jerry?

A.  This season, the cast, we're down to about six people.  The cast is now James Spader, Candice Bergen, John Larroquette, William Shatner, Tara Summers, and myself.  We're going to see a continued evolution of Jerry and he's learning to deal with his Aspergers better.  He's trying various new therapies and we get to see family as well including his sister played by Annie Potts in a great episode.

Q.  What is it about the show that originally made you want to be a part of it?

A.  In a nutshell, David E. Kelley, he has to be considered one of the best writers in television.  I think there is going to come a day when you're going to come a time where it's going to be Rod Serling, James L. Brooks, and David E. Kelley who are going to be in that sort of pantheon of writers.  What many people don't know is that he writes almost every single episode.  He's passionate about the show and the episodes he's been writing for this season are some of the best of the show.  I am a very lucky actor to be saying his words week after week.  On top of all that, on a personal level, James Spader is an old, dear friend.  I have known him since 1972 so we've been friends for a long, long time. 

Q.  What is it about your role as Jerry that continues to challenge you?

A.  First of all he's a brilliant lawyer and he really can function eccentrically really well as a lawyer.  That is a challenge and there are cases and there are arguments that he makes that are so compelling and so it's a challenge to act.  When you come to work and that's a challenge, that makes it fun.  Also the fact that he's a character that's changing and that as an actor is something that you really want to do.  It's death to play someone who is just the same all of the time.  He is someone who is actively trying to change himself and trying to improve and affect himself in ways that are really fun as an actor. 

Q.  Where do you draw from for your portrayal of Jerry?

A.  Most of it comes from myself, I just try to imagine myself in situations like that or I think of actual situations that I have had that are similar.  Also from research, there are a lot of books written about people with Aspergers.  One in particular is about an English physicist named Daniel and also Temple Brandon who is an animal behaviorist who designed Stockyard.  There is a lot of research to be done and the nice thing about continuing a role on television is that you can keep doing research.  It's not like you suddenly have this deadline, you have to get it all done, and then it's all over.  I have been doing research for as long as I have been playing the role. 

Q.  Do you have a really memorable moment from filming the show?

A.  There are a couple of speeches that I did this season that is about to start airing.  There is one where I am defending Denny Crane on charges of a concealed weapon.  There is a closing speech that I give to the jury, first of all, it's one of the best written things that I have ever done and to get a chance to do it, I mean it's a five page speech that's four or five minutes of television.  It's four or five minutes of television where it is just me talking and that's an amazing thing.  I am most likely never to have an opportunity like that again and it was a great, great pleasure.

Q.  You won an Emmy for your role on the show, how did it make you feel winning such a prestigious award?

A.  It's an amazing thing and I still have to shake myself sometimes and say, "Did that really happen?"  I will get up in the middle of the night and I will actually get up, get out of bed and wander to where the Emmy is.  Sometimes it is in the bathroom or it is in the living room and I actually get up and go look at it and say, "Yes, it really did happen."  It's an amazing thing and you reach a point in your career and you think something like that just isn't going to happen and then it did and it was a completely wonderful surprise.  The show has definitely been a really great blessing in my life for many reasons but getting that award is certainly one of the wonderful reasons that doing the show has been a pleasure.

Q.  What do you think it is about the show that continues to draw viewers in?

A.  It's a couple of things, first of all we do these scenes that are very compelling and they are drawn from the newspapers and there are some stories that are actually effecting our lives today.  You can learn about these topics and at the same time it's just funny as hell.  The show is just really, really funny and at the same time it functions as this really serious drama.  When David E. Kelley is really writing well he gets this perfect balance between drama and comedy.  Very few writers can do it exactly and as well as he does and I think that's one of the things that fans just love to see week after week.

Q.  Is there a place online where people can go to in order to learn more about you?

A.  At some point I might but I have not done that yet.  There actually is a great website for "Boston Legal" and it's bostonlegal.org.  It's a tremendous website and the people who run it are amazing.  The work that they put into it and the quality of work that they put in to it is kind of amazing and it's all done because they love the show. 

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  I am so appreciative that there are people who enjoy my work.  I have one of those weird jobs that if people didn't appreciate my work, I wouldn't work.  I guess I want them to know that I am always working as hard as I can and I take Jerry seriously.  As long as the show is on the air I will play him to the best of my ability.